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State Officials Find Portland High Schools' Schedule Falls Short

Oregon education officials ruled Thursday that the high school schedule at Portland Public Schools doesn’t meet minimum rules for class time.

Portland's Lincoln High School

Rob Manning / OPB

The parents’ complaint argued Portland’s eight-period block schedule fell short of the 990 instructional hours a year the state requires, and that individual classes don’t meet the 130-hour state minimum.

The state found Portland Public meets the 990 requirement, but not the “spirit,” of the rule, because students struggle to carry a full course load. The state found the district does not meet the 130 hour requirement for an individual course.

“We’ve seen several proposals that the district has put forth to meet ‘130,’” Fenn said. “We’re really appreciative of the efforts they’re going to, to comply. I think they have several good options and will pick one of them.”

The recent Portland Association of Teachers contract commits at least 50 more teachers to the high schools.

Other districts use similar block schedules, but the parent complaint was directed only at Portland.